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从英国文学《名利场》看萨克雷的男权思想作者：朱言来源：《科学与财富》2016年第01期摘要：《名利场》是英国小说家萨克雷的代表作品，被认为是西方文学的巨著之一，它的问世奠定了萨克雷在英国文坛的地位，并使萨克雷被公认为与狄更斯齐名的天才小说家。
本文通过分析《名利场》中女性角色的性格特征，试图探析萨克雷的男权思想。
关键词：瑞贝卡夏普；艾米莉亚；萨克雷；名利引言：《名利场》是一部批判现实主义的小说。
作者生动描述了骄奢淫逸的贵族、满身铜臭的资本家、流氓无赖式的乡绅和吸食殖民地人民血汗的寄生虫等，深刻揭露和抨击了资本主义社会本质的个人自私主义。
萨克雷对于主人公的描述词锋犀利，幽默风趣，解析人生精妙入微，小说问世一百多年来，一直被誉为一面讽世明镜，一部警世宝典。
一、萨克雷简介《名利场》作者萨克雷是应该19世纪伟大现实主义作家，出生于印度的他，在幼年时因求学回到应该，曾去过德国和法国，精通法律和艺术，他广泛阅读德、法、英等国的著名文学作品，一直保持对文学的热爱。
长大以后，萨克雷将继承与父亲的遗产挥霍殆尽，生活拮据的他被迫为报刊写稿用以维持生计，曾发表过游记、散文、小说等。
萨克雷是个十分多产的作家，其作品集共有35卷，早期作品多为一些特写、是个和幽默故事，如《爱尔兰杂记》、《巴黎杂记》等；中期的作品开始向批判现实主义小说发展，而《名利场》正式其成名作，奠定了其在英国文坛的地位，并因此被认为是与狄更斯齐名的著名小说家。
萨克雷1852年发表的三卷本历史小说《亨利埃斯蒙德的历史》，还甚至被后人推至与《名利场》齐名的地位。
萨克雷在后期曾撰写了一批优秀的散文《转弯抹角的随笔》，被后人认为可与兰姆的作品齐名。
此外，萨克雷还创作过一些有关圣诞节的作品，最著名的是1854年著的《玫瑰与戒指》。
二、作品简介《名利场》取材于19世纪初的英国上层社会，主要描述了两位性格迥异女性的不同命运，向世人们展示了当时英国上层社会的道德危机和腐败堕落，揭露并批判了资本主义社会的世态炎凉和金钱至上的观念。
对《名利场》女性形象比较研究作者：赵琼来源：《青年文学家》2016年第06期摘要：《名利场》是英国作家威廉·梅克比斯·萨克雷的成名作品，他的文章风格以批判现实主义著称。
《名利场》这部作品，以两位年轻女子的经历为主线，讽刺并批判了当时英国上层社会的勾心斗角，尔虞我诈的人际关系，揭露了英国淫乱无度的社会现状。
文章中的两位女性形象形成了明显的对比，将文章的主题突出的更加明显。
本文将从《名利场》中这两位女性的形象入手，通过对二人的形象比较，来更加深刻的理解这部作品的主题。
关键词：《名利场》；女性；比较[中图分类号]：I106 [文献标识码]：A[文章编号]：1002-2139（2016）-06-0-01前言：《名利场》的故事背景是很热闹的英国十九世纪中上层社会。
当时英国国力强盛，社会发展迅速，而那些富有的商人却压榨着这个社会。
中上层的各种人都在想方设法地争权夺利，所谓“天下攘攘，皆为利往，天下熙熙，皆为利来”。
该故事是通过俩条线索展开的，一条描述心地善良，出生富贵家庭的艾米丽，另一条是描述自私，贫穷的贝基。
作者借她们对“名利”的追求而最终走向不同的命运，表达了对“名利场”的不满。
《名利场》通过对人物生动的描写，强烈地表达了作者的观点。
1、两个不同的女性形象1.1自私低贱的“女强人”在《名利场》中，作者塑造了一个自私，卑微，贫寒但是又坚强的角色，她就是贝基·夏普。
她出生在一个贫穷的家庭，但是家庭的贫穷并没有让她屈服于命运。
她深谙这个社会的规则，只有爬上了上流社会，才会摆脱贫穷。
于是，她利用自己的美貌与智慧，处处卖弄风骚，为的就是吸引那些美其名曰的社会上流人士。
她玩弄各种手段，不惜破坏别人的生活，来获得自己往上爬的机会。
只要身边出现了有钱有势的人，她就会不惜一切代价的贴上去。
她阿谀奉承，卖弄风骚，吸引着这些贵族们，让他们成为自己向上爬的阶梯。
虽然作者笔下刻画的是一个自私，手段高明的让人厌恶的角色，但是我们却不能忽略她身上那种坚强的品质与对这个社会的了解，她在这个男权当道的社会，利用自己的有优势让自己在这个社会更好地生存下去，无疑是她性格中的闪光点。
浅析《远大前程》中主人公的性格与命运前言：查尔斯·狄更斯(Charles Dickens)(1812年一1870年)，是19世纪最著名的英国小说家之一。
他的父亲因债务问题入狱，为补贴家用，狄更斯只有去当鞋童工。
但是他不想放弃成为作家这个梦想。
于是，他努力学习文化知识，先从记者做起，之后成为了小说家。
(查尔斯·狄更斯的生活经历在《远大前程》这部小说中有类似的体现。
)狄更斯的大部分作品都是描写在英国的维多利亚时期的底层人民过着苦难生活，亦反映了当时伦敦上层社会奢靡的生活习气。
《远大前程》是狄更斯创作后期的最主要的作品之一，他在这一时期还创作了最著名的《双城记》等优秀作品。
《远大前程》描述的是一个名叫皮普的孤儿幻想破灭的悲剧。
皮普本来是一个善良、纯朴、拥有理想的乡村青年。
可是，当他遇到埃斯黛拉后，心中虚荣的种子开始萌芽，他立志步入上流社会，成为一名所谓的绅士，就是为了与埃斯黛拉相互般配。
突然有一天，他将得到一位匿名人士的一大笔财产资助，自己的人生即将彻底改变，怀揣多年的远大理想也终于就要实现了。
在来到伦敦之后，他追求奢华的生活，挥金如土，结果债务累累。
几个月未见的姐夫——乔前来探望，他竟然产生了嫌弃之情，枉费姐夫从小对他的一片关心。
就在此时，那个资助者为了见见自己“培养的绅士”，悄悄来到伦敦，但作为逃犯的身份被揭穿了。
皮普知道后，感到非常震惊、甚至心生厌恶。
可是，随着逃犯的去世，他的理想生活成为了幻影。
后来，失去了这一切的皮普生了一场大病，好心的乔不但悉心照顾，还替他还清了债务。
最终，还是回到了乔身边，感觉从未离开过。
他终于领悟到所谓的远大前程就是吹弹可破的泡沫，对他来说，牢不可破的是拥有真诚的朋友和平凡的生活。
小说从三个个阶段清晰展现了皮普的成长，由善良纯朴到爱慕虚荣，甚至贪恋浮华的生活，经历磨难后回归自我。
最终逃不过命运的轮回，回到原本朴实的生活中。
通过对皮普成长历程的描写，来展现主人公性格的发展。
《名利场》读书体会名利背后的辛酸与挣扎《名利场》是英国 19 世纪小说家威廉·梅克比斯·萨克雷的成名作。
这部小说以 19 世纪初期英国上层社会为背景，生动地描绘了一幅名利追逐的群像图，展现了人性的复杂和名利背后的辛酸与挣扎。
小说的女主人公之一蓓基·夏泼，是一个出身贫寒但野心勃勃的女子。
她凭借着自己的聪明才智和不择手段，试图在名利场中出人头地。
为了挤进上流社会，她不惜用尽各种手段，欺骗、奉承、勾引，无所不用其极。
然而，在她看似风光的背后，却是无尽的孤独和内心的空虚。
她虽然获得了财富和地位，却失去了真正的爱情和友情，最终众叛亲离。
蓓基的命运让我深刻地感受到，名利的追求往往是一场虚幻的梦。
她以为通过攀附权贵、谋取财富就能获得幸福，但实际上，她在追逐名利的过程中逐渐迷失了自我，变得冷酷无情、自私自利。
她的人生就像一场永无止境的赛跑，永远在追逐着更高的目标，却从未真正停下来享受过生活的美好。
另一位女主人公爱米丽亚则与蓓基形成了鲜明的对比。
爱米丽亚出身优越，性格温柔善良，但却过于单纯和软弱。
她把爱情视为生命的全部，全身心地爱着乔治·奥斯本，却在婚后遭遇了丈夫的背叛。
然而，即使经历了如此的痛苦，爱米丽亚依然坚守着自己内心的善良和纯真。
爱米丽亚的经历让我明白，在名利场中，保持一颗纯真善良的心是多么的难得。
她虽然没有像蓓基那样在名利场上呼风唤雨，但她却拥有着真正的朋友和亲人，最终也收获了属于自己的幸福。
相比之下，蓓基虽然在表面上获得了成功，但她的内心却充满了痛苦和挣扎。
小说中的男性角色也同样深陷在名利的漩涡中。
乔治·奥斯本是一个典型的纨绔子弟，他只看重家族的荣誉和财富，对待爱情也是朝三暮四。
而都宾先生则是一个忠诚、善良的人，他默默地爱着爱米丽亚，为她付出了一切。
这两个人物的对比，让我看到了在名利面前，人性的善恶美丑是如此的分明。
萨克雷通过《名利场》向我们揭示了一个残酷的现实：名利场就像一个巨大的陷阱，一旦陷入其中，就很难自拔。
浅析《远大前程》中主人公的性格与命运前言：查尔斯·狄更斯(Charles Dickens)(1812年一1870年)，是19世纪最著名的英国小说家之一。
他的父亲因债务问题入狱，为补贴家用，狄更斯只有去当鞋童工。
但是他不想放弃成为作家这个梦想。
于是，他努力学习文化知识，先从记者做起，之后成为了小说家。
(查尔斯·狄更斯的生活经历在《远大前程》这部小说中有类似的体现。
)狄更斯的大部分作品都是描写在英国的维多利亚时期的底层人民过着苦难生活，亦反映了当时伦敦上层社会奢靡的生活习气。
《远大前程》是狄更斯创作后期的最主要的作品之一，他在这一时期还创作了最著名的《双城记》等优秀作品。
《远大前程》描述的是一个名叫皮普的孤儿幻想破灭的悲剧。
皮普本来是一个善良、纯朴、拥有理想的乡村青年。
可是，当他遇到埃斯黛拉后，心中虚荣的种子开始萌芽，他立志步入上流社会，成为一名所谓的绅士，就是为了与埃斯黛拉相互般配。
突然有一天，他将得到一位匿名人士的一大笔财产资助，自己的人生即将彻底改变，怀揣多年的远大理想也终于就要实现了。
在来到伦敦之后，他追求奢华的生活，挥金如土，结果债务累累。
几个月未见的姐夫——乔前来探望，他竟然产生了嫌弃之情，枉费姐夫从小对他的一片关心。
就在此时，那个资助者为了见见自己“培养的绅士”，悄悄来到伦敦，但作为逃犯的身份被揭穿了。
皮普知道后，感到非常震惊、甚至心生厌恶。
可是，随着逃犯的去世，他的理想生活成为了幻影。
后来，失去了这一切的皮普生了一场大病，好心的乔不但悉心照顾，还替他还清了债务。
最终，还是回到了乔身边，感觉从未离开过。
他终于领悟到所谓的远大前程就是吹弹可破的泡沫，对他来说，牢不可破的是拥有真诚的朋友和平凡的生活。
小说从三个个阶段清晰展现了皮普的成长，由善良纯朴到爱慕虚荣，甚至贪恋浮华的生活，经历磨难后回归自我。
最终逃不过命运的轮回，回到原本朴实的生活中。
通过对皮普成长历程的描写，来展现主人公性格的发展。
萨克雷《名利场》中的人物分析摘要：世界著名作家萨克雷创作的讽刺小说《名利场》，全篇运用现实主义的手法向人们描绘了19世纪的风貌。
作家萨克雷笔触细腻、思想深刻、语言锐利，通过对几位主人公的形象塑造，成功深化了作品主题。
关键词：《名利场》人物形象主题引言萨克雷在求学时期大量阅读文学书籍，为后来的创作提供了良好的素材，后来前往德国并拜访了文学泰斗歌德。
1932年，出于对文学的向往，又去了巴黎，他把这一段宝贵经历写进了后来的《巴黎速写》。
同年，他开始担任《国民旗帜》杂志的助理编辑，后又担任通讯记者。
自1833年起，萨克雷开始用多种笔名在报刊上发表了很多文章，也出了好几部书，直到长篇小说《名利场》问世，他才被公认为天才小说家。
《名利场》在世界文学史上占有重要的地位，这篇小说完成于1848年，同时也奠定了萨克雷在现实主义文学中的地位。
《名利场》中各色人物的描写给读者留下了极其深刻的印象，辛辣地讽刺了买卖良心和荣誉的丑恶现象，而且运用深刻的心理描写和生动的细节勾勒来刻画人物。
一、《名利场》的创作背景19世纪的英国正在经历着一场经济转型的特殊时期，工商业的繁荣和发展促进了社会的进步，同时也拉大了人们之间的贫富差距，由于工商业主掌握了大部分的财产，造成了人们之间关系的冷淡和默然。
处于当时的社会环境，萨克雷的《名利场》应时代需求而出现，如同一副治愈人类心灵疾病的良药。
在《名利场》中，不存在英雄，名利和金钱作为主角掌控着人们的心理活动和行为，萨克雷用讽刺和幽默的手法反映了社会现实，为人们敲响了警钟。
整理是一个现实主义作家和幽默大师，他用生动活泼、幽默辛辣的语言反映了一个严肃、沉重的主题。
小说中描写家境并不殷实的克劳莱夫妇时常大宴宾客，邀请上流社会人士举行聚会。
整理对其中的原因进行了介绍，就是宴会的所有费用都是由富人斯丹恩支付。
字里行间流露出对依附权贵、留恋名利场、虚荣伪善之人的讽刺。
小说中，整理在灵活多样的语言表达形式中运用了反讽修辞，在刻画人物形象的同时追求幽默的表达效果。
A Comparative Study of Figures in Dickens’ Great Expectations and Thackeray’s Vanity FairAbstractGreat Expectations and Vanity Fair are the two masterpiece works in 19th century in Britain. They are the work of Dickens and Thackeray respectively. There are a large scale similarities and differences between the two works. Both of them have a detailed concerned about society and civilians by the comprehensive analysis on the fate of characterism the novel. As to the figures chosen, the figure of Great Expectations is an innocent child who are easily to be affected by the outside environment of society; the figures of Vanity Fair are come from the upper ten and the author showed his negative attitude to them. This paper tries to have a comparative study of figures from the perspective of critical realism. In addition, the paper tries to figure out the various causes of the fate of different characters. The limitations in the aspect of of social, cultural and political are the fundamental causes for the different life of figures.Key words: Great Expectations; Vanity Fair; figures; critical realism; causes摘要《远大前程》和《名利场》作为19世纪英国的两部旷世之作，是分别由狄更斯和萨克雷两位大师级的作家完成的。
A Comparative Study of Figures in Dickens‟ Great Expectations and Thackeray‟s Vanity FairAbstractGreat Expectations and Vanity Fair are the two masterpiece works in 19th century in Britain. They are the work of Dickens and Thackeray respectively. There are a large scale similarities and differences between the two works. Both of them have a detailed concerned about society and civilians by the comprehensive analysis on the fate of characterism the novel. As to the figures chosen, the figure of Great Expectations is an innocent child who are easily to be affected by the outside environment of society; the figures of Vanity Fair are come from the upper ten and the author showed his negative attitude to them. This paper tries to have a comparative study of figures from the perspective of critical realism. In addition, the paper tries to figure out the various causes of the fate of different characters. The limitations in the aspect of of social, cultural and political are the fundamental causes for the different life of figures.Key words: Great Expectations; Vanity Fair; figures; critical realism; causes摘要《远大前程》和《名利场》作为19世纪英国的两部旷世之作，是分别由狄更斯和萨克雷两位大师级的作家完成的。
两部作品存在着大量的相似点和差异。
两部作品都不约而同的通过对主人公命运的展示表现了对平民和社会深沉的关注。
至于角色选定，《远大前程》用容易受到社会环境影响的天真儿童作为作品的主人公；《名利场》所选择的的任务大部分来自于上流社会，萨克雷对这类群体采取十分消极的态度。
本文将尝试从评判现实主义的角度对两部作品中的不同人物进行对比分析。
同时本文将探析造成文中角色不同命运的多种原因。
并得出在社会，经济和文化方面的限制才是造成不同任务的不同命运的根本原因。
关键词：《远大前程》；《名利场》；人物；评判现实主义；原因ContentIntroduction (4)Brief Introduction to the Author (4)Brief Introduction to the Work (5)Significance of the Thesis (6)Organization of the Thesis (6)1.The Critical Realism (6)1.1 Critical realism in economics (6)1.2.Critical realism and Marxism (7)1.3. Contemporary critical realism (7)2. The Tragic Lives of Main Characters (9)2.1 Estella Havisham: Imprisonment of Marriage, Slave of Money (9)2.2 Sharp: Break of Dream (10)3. The Causes of the Formation for Difference Figures (11)3.1 Self-destruction Caused by the Deficiency in Personality (11)3.1.1 Estella Havisham‟s Selfness and Superficiality (11)3.1.2 Sharp‟s Vanity and Ignorance (12)3.2 The Victim of Patriarchal Society (13)3.2.1 Pirrip‟s “Materialization” of Estella Havisham (13)3.2.2 Compeyson‟s Imprisonment of Estella Havisham (14)3.2.3 Osborne‟s Toying with Sharp (14)3.2.4 Cra wley‟s Indifference to Sharp (15)4. Conclusion (15)References (16)IntroductionBrief Introduction to the AuthorCharles Dickens was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's most memorable fictional characters and is generally regarded as the greatest novelist of the Victorian period. During his life, his works enjoyed unprecedented fame, and by the twentieth century his literary genius was broadly acknowledged by critics and scholars. His novels and short stories continue to be widely popular. Although he had little formal education, his early impoverishment drove him to succeed. Over his career he edited a weekly journal for 20 years, wrote 15 novels, 5 novellas and hundreds of short stories and non-fiction articles, lectured and performed extensively, was an indefatigable letter writer, and campaigned vigorously for children's rights, education, and other social reforms. His novels, most published in monthly or weekly instalments, pioneered theserial publication of narrative fiction, which became the dominant Victorian mode for novel publication. The instalment format allowed Dickens to evaluate his audience's reaction, and he often modified his plot and character development based on such feedback.William Thackeray was an English novelist of the 19th century. He was famous for his satirical works, particularly Vanity Fair, a panoramic portrait of English society. On reaching the age of 21, he came into his inheritance but he squandered much of it on gambling and by funding two unsuccessful newspapers, The National Standard and The Constitutional for which he had hoped to write. He also lost a good part of his fortune in the collapse of two Indian banks. Forced to consider a profession to support himself, he turned first to art, which he studied in Paris, but did not pursue it except in later years as the illustrator of some of his own novels and other writings. He achieved more recognition with his Snob Papers, but the work that really established his fame was the novel Vanity Fair, which first appeared in serialised installments beginning in January 1847. Even before Vanity Fair completed its serial run, Thackeray had become a celebrity, sought after by the very lords and ladies whom he satirised; they hailed him as the equal of Dickens. In 1860 Thackeray became editor of the newly established Cornhill Magazine, but was never comfortable as an editor, preferring tocontribute to the magazine as a columnist, producing his Roundabout Papers for it.Brief Introduction to the WorkVanity Fair: The book's title comes fromJohn Bunyan's allegoricalstory The Pilgrim's Progress. "Vanity Fair" refers to a stop along the pilgrim's progress: a never-ending fair held in a town called Vanity, which is meant to represent man's sinful attachment to worldly things. The story opens with Miss Pinkerton's Academy for Young Ladies, where Becky Sharp and Amelia Sedley have just completed their studies and are preparing to depart for Amelia's house in Russell Square. Becky is portrayed as a strong-willed and cunning young woman determined to make her way in society, and Amelia Sedley as a good-natured, lovable though simple-minded young girl. Had he outlived his brother by even a day he would have become Sir Rawdon Crawley and Becky would have become Lady Crawley, a title she uses anyway in later life. There is also a final appearance for Becky, as cocky as ever, selling trinkets at a fair in aid of various charitable causes. She is now living well again as her son, the new baronet, has agreed to financially support her however he declines any further relationship or communication.Great Expectations is a bildungsroman, or a coming-of-age novel, and the story genre is Victorian Literature. It is set among the marshes of Kent and in London in the early to mid-1800s. From the outset, the reader is "treated" by the terrifying encounter between Pip, the protagonist, and the escaped convict, Abel Magwitch. Great Expectations is a graphic book, full of extreme imagery, poverty, prison ships, "the hulks," barriers and chains, and fights to the death. It therefore combines intrigue and unexpected twists of autobiographical detail in different tones. Regardless of its narrative technique, the novel reflects the events of the time, Dickens' concerns, and the relationship between society and man. Great Expectations has a colorful cast that has remained in popular culture: the capricious Miss Havisham, the cold and beautiful Estella, Joe the kind and generous blacksmith, the dry and sycophantic Uncle Pumblechook, Mr Jaggers, Wemmick and his dual personality, and the eloquent and wise friend, Herbert Pocket.Significance of the ThesisBecause of the limitation of cultural and social factors, there are some difficulties in having a comprehensive understanding of Great Expectations and Vanity Fair. The fate of characters is the core point of novel. Critical realism is the theory that some of our sense-data can and do accurately represent external objects, properties, and events. The research from the perspective of critical realism can reveal the true essence of human beings as to manifest human beings‟ consciousness and fantasy and explore the truth of human‟s inner world. By means of analyzing the figures in Great Expectations and Vanity Fair, and the clear understanding about similarities and differences can be build.The figures in Dickens‟ Great Expectations and Thackeray‟s Vanity Fair reminds us that under the prosperity of material life, we still need to be aware of the moral degradation. This paper will give readers, who fancy Dickens and Thackeray, developing understanding of the warning significance of these two fictions in modern society.Organization of the ThesisSo far, it has presented the brief introduction about Dickens and Thackeray, and Great Expectations and Vanity Fair. The second section will discuss about critical realism. The third part is the similarities and differences of figures in Great Expectations and Vanity Fair. Finally, it will introduce the causes of the formation of different fates in this play.The Critical Realism1.1 Critical realism in economicsAccording to critical realist economists, the central aim of economic theory is to provide explanations in terms of hidden generative structures. This position combines transcendental realism with a critique of mainstream economics. It argues that mainstream economics (i) relies excessively on deductivist methodology, (ii) embraces an uncritical enthusiasm for formalism, and (iii) believes in strong conditional predictions in economics despite repeatedfailures. The world that mainstream economists study is the empirical world. But this world is "out of phase" (Lawson) with the underlying ontology of economic regularities. The mainstream view is thus a limited reality because empirical realists presume that the objects of inquiry are solely "empirical regularities"—that is, objects and events at the level of the experienced.The critical realist views the domain of real causal mechanisms as the appropriate object of economic science, whereas the positivist view is that the reality is exhausted in empirical, i.e. experienced reality. Tony Lawson argues that economics ought to embrace a "social ontology" to include the underlying causes of economic phenomena.1.2.Critical realism and MarxismA development of Bhaskar's critical realism lies at the ontological root of contemporary streams of Marxist political and economic theory. The realist philosophy described by Bhaskar in A Realist Theory of Science is compatible with Marx's work in that it differentiates between an intransitive reality, which exists independently of human knowledge of it, and the socially produced world of science and empirical knowledge. This dualist logic is clearly present in the Marxian theory of ideology, according to which social reality may be very different from its empirically observable surface appearance. Notably, Alex Callinicos has argued for a 'critical realist' ontology in the philosophy of social science and explicitly acknowledges Bhaskar's influence (while also rejecting the latter's 'spiritualist turn' in his later work). The relationship between critical realist philosophy and Marxism has also been discussed in an article co-authored by Bhaskar and Callinicos and published in the Journal of Critical Realism1.3. Contemporary critical realismCritical realism is presently most commonly associated with the work of Roy Bhaskar. Bhaskar developed a general philosophy of science that he described as transcendental realism, and a special philosophy of the human sciences that he called critical naturalism. The two terms were combined by other authors to form the umbrella term critical realism.Transcendental realism attempts to establish that in order for scientific investigation to take place, the object of that investigation must have real, manipulable, internal mechanisms that can be actualised to produce particular outcomes. This is what we do when we conduct experiments. This stands in contrast to empiricist scientists' claim that all scientists can do is observe the relationship between cause and effect and impose meaning. Whilst empiricism, and positivism more generally, locate causal relationships at the level of events, Critical Realism locates them at the level of the generative mechanism, arguing that causal relationships are irreducible to empirical constant conjunctions of David Hume's doctrine; in other words, a constant conjunctive relationship between events is neither sufficient nor even necessary to establish a causal relationship.The implication of this is that science should be understood as an ongoing process in which scientists improve the concepts they use to understand the mechanisms that they study. It should not, in contrast to the claim of empiricists, be about the identification of a coincidence between a postulated independent variable and dependent variable. Positivism/falsification are also rejected due to the observation that it is highly plausible that a mechanism will exist, which results in its having unpredictable effects. Thus, non-realisation of a posited mechanism cannot be taken to signify its non-existence.Critical naturalism argues that the transcendental realist model of science is equally applicable to both the physical and the human worlds. However, when we study the human world we are studying something fundamentally different from the physical world and must therefore adapt our strategy to studying it. Critical naturalism therefore prescribes social scientific method which seeks to identify the mechanisms producing social events, but with a recognition that these are in a much greater state of flux than those of the physical world. In particular, we must understand that human agency is made possible by social structures that themselves require the reproduction of certain actions/pre-conditions. Further, the individuals that inhabit these social structures are capable of consciously reflecting upon, and changing, the actions that produce them—a practice that is in part facilitated by social scientific research.2. The Tragic Lives of Main CharactersThe success of G reat Expectations and Thackeray‟s Vanity Fair have a close relationship with its female images. The female images are the best reflection for the special social and cultural background. However, the main images did not lead a very happy life, all of them have a very tragic life. Although they have the similar fate, great differences can be found in their respective tragedies.2.1 Estella Havisham: Imprisonment of Marriage, Slave of MoneyEstella Havisham is an angel, as well as evil. There is no doubt that Estella Havisham is the most important female role in G reat Expectations. She is the motivation why Pirrip can be so successful and be murdered at last. Pirrip was falling in love with Estella Havisham at the first sight. In her teenage, Estella Havisham was so beautiful and innocent, that‟s why she can always be the focus of others. In story, author always ties Estella Havisham and all the things related to her with beautiful flowers, which emphasizing her breathtaking beauty. However, she got nothing at last. Her tragic marriage and the misunderstanding about money resulted in her tragedy.Marriage directly changed her life. She once had a beautiful thinking about her future. She did not take the physical matters into consideration, all she wanted is to be with her family. But because of the special historical condition, She did not spend too much time in Pirrip and married Compeyson. It was not right wrong to put her fate in the unknown future. But she did not know clearly about her husband, either. The happiness life did not embrace her. Instead, her husband still lived in his own lifestyle and did not pay too much attention to take care of Estella Havisham. She was still alone and did not find a man to rely on. In Compeyson‟s opinion, marriage means nothing to him, Estella Havisham is no more important than his outside lover. Compeyson could not step into the house more than one month, Estella Havisham can not attract the attention from him. There are a lot of sufferings in her marriage. She was trapped in marriage. Because of the existence of marriage, Estella Havisham could not maintain the relationship with Pirrip when he appeared in front of her.As to money concept, she was contaminated by money. ”Then wear the gold hat, ifthat ill move her; if you can bounce high, bounce for her too, till she cry …lover, gold-hatted, high bouncing lover, I must have you‟”. We can not deny that there was a love relationship between Estella Havisham and Pirrip, the reasons for why they did not be the couples is that Pirrip is so poor that he could not afford the dreamed life of Estella Havisham. Therefore, she chose the cosy life when Pirrip went away. Comparing with money, the friendship and love ship mean nothing. Estella Havisham is not the image in Pirrip‟s mind, the changes have been taken place both in her face and her heart. It is very ridiculous to talk about invisible things with her, money is the only standard to weigh what is right and what is wrong. She could not get the happiness from Compeyson and marriage. Gradually, she realized that money can make possibilities for her to enjoy the “invisible comfortable”. That is the main reason for her tragic life. The abnormal relationship with Pirrip and the resentment to Compeyson and his lover are dominated by her money concept.2.2 Sharp: Break of DreamSharp is coming from the bottom of society who can not win too much attention from the public. She had a lot of similarities with Pirrip, she had a strong desire for her future life. There was a dream in her mind. The dream was broken when encounter with the tough reality, Sharp was confused and did not know what to do to make her dream come true. Being troubled by reality and dream, Sharp could not keep balance between two of them. That is the main reason for her tragedy. The inequality in social status indicates that there are thing will be done by Sharp if she wants to enter the upper ten. When Sharp firstly met Osborne, “she was falling in love with Osborne immediately”. It not only has the dispensable relationship with individual feelings, but also the has the relationship with the social background of Osborne. Sharp wanted to be the lover of Osborne without any hesitation. She considered Osborne as a very effective bond to tie herself with the upper ten. Because Osborne has advantages in wealth and social status can lay a solid foundation for the fulfillment of her dream.After Sharp became the lover of Osborne, she spared no efforts to imitate the life style of the upper ten. She dressed on the glorious clothes, took the new carriage and even bought adog as her pet and etc. This kind of behaviors made her invisible dream much specified than ever before. Love is not the primary thing for Sharp to take into consideration, the fulfillment of her vanity has been placed in the first position. Therefore, she tried her best to show what she already had to his friends in her party. Sharp enjoyed envious opinion from others, she was proud of being the lover of Osborne. In our common sense, lover is not a good identity which is not easy to be accepted by others. On the contrary, Sharp attached great importance to it, because it is her only connection with the upper ten. Osborne is the physical foundation for her to make her dream come true. It might be impossible for her to fulfill her dream without the help of Osborne. This can be the explanation for why she was mad when Osborne tried to depart her. She realized the important position of Osborne in her dream. As a consequence, she still wanted to get on the carriage when Osborne was leaving. Osborne‟s leave means the breaking of her dream.3. The Causes of the Formation for Difference FiguresThe reasons for the female tragedies are very complicated. There are a large scale of causes for tragedies of three female images. “The internal and external factors can lay a solid foundation for the tragedies”.3.1 Self-destruction Caused by the Deficiency in PersonalityBecause of the differences in education level, social background and social identity, there are obvious differences in the deficiencies in personality. The deficiencies in personality are the internal causes of the female tragedies.3.1.1 Estella Havisham’s Selfness and SuperficialityThe selfness of Estella Havisham is should be responsible for the death of Pirrip. We can not put all the responsibilities on Estella Havisham, the defects of Compeyson should be taken into consideration. As we all know, “Estella Havisham had a hostile attitude towards to his husband”. So she attempted to take advantage of Pirrip. She was so selfish that taking revenge on Compeyson and his lover is the most important thing. This kind of revenge directly resulted in the loneliness of Estella Havisham and the death of Pirrip. This is the essence ofEstella Havisham‟s tragic life, there is no one for her to rely on. She did not realize the faults of herself. It is innocent for the death of Pirrip, who did not do anything wrong. He was just falling in love with Estella Havisham, but Estella Havisham took advantage of this love to kill Pirrip, as well the hope for life. The death of Compeyson and Pirrip means that Estella Havisham had already lost everything she could have. She lost the capital to stay in the upper ten, as well as the eternal love for her. In addition, Estella Havisham‟s superficiality can be expressed in her attitude to money. The primary reason why Estella Havisham wanted to build the relationship with Pirrip is that the wealth Pirrip owned beyond her imagination at the same degree. The fulfillment of physical is much more important than that of mental. She did not has the desire to pursuit mental ful fillment,which is the fundamental strength to support one‟s life. She chose the cosy and comfortable life. In addition, she did nothing when she already knew something about her husband‟s lover. It is all right to be betrayed by her husband and to keep the equivocal relationship with Pirrip. She lives without soul and desire, she is just doing “the routine work” in her daily. There is no passion and desire for her to survive, death maybe the best selection for her.3.1.2 Sharp’s Vanity and IgnoranceIn reality, Sharp was living at the bottom of society. She once had a happiness family, which is the highest standard for an ordinary female. However, Sharp did not satisfy what she had. In her opinion, entering into upper ten and lead a cosy life are the most charming parts in her life. Sharp chose to became the lover of Osborne. She only wanted to be a member of the upper ten. From the beginning, it meant to be a tragedy. In the process of vanity pursuit, she sacrificed too much things. Even there are some improvements in her physical life, but no one envied her. The public knew clearly about why Sharp could be a part of them, the disrespect from others can be easily found in the story. Everyone knew clearly that she is just a “pet” of Osborne. she is not qual ified to be a member of the upper ten. What‟s worse, she abandoned her husband and her family. This is unaccepted in he patriarchal society. Sharp was totally relying on Osborne, she means nothing to others without the “dirty relationship” with Osborne.Being a member of the upper ten, she knew nothing about the rules in the upper ten. Firstly, she was so urge to show the “glorious life” in upper ten, she did not take other‟s feelings into consideration. What she appreciated is very common to others, people did not envy at her at all. In the meantime, she was so lonely that no one wanted to be friends with her. What‟s worse, her ignorance made her believe that she had truly become a member of the upper ten. In the opinion, there was no big difference between her and others. But from the perspective of others, she could never be a member of them. Therefore, people tried to stay away with her, it is shameful to make friends with Sharp. People has been put him at the corner of society and was no tending to take care of Sharp.3.2 The Victim of Patriarchal SocietyPatriarchal society is the external cause for their tragedies. We can not deny that males are still the dominating of that society. They considered female as their subordination and did not show too much respect towards female. Males pushed female into a disadvantageous position. The demands of female would never be met, the feelings of them have been ignored by the society. No one gives a hand to relieve female‟s sufferings and change female‟s to ugh situations.3.2.1 Pirrip’s “Materialization” of Estella HavishamThe materialization of Estella Havisham is the biggest misunderstanding about Estella Havisham. In Pirrip‟s opinion, the cause why Estella Havisham would marry Compeyson is that Compeyson had larger wealth and better social status. Therefore, he tried his best to earn more money and he made it. In Pirrip‟s traditional concept, the materialization of Estella Havisham is very obvious. “The more money he can earn, the much easier for him to get her”. Pirrip never pay attention to the inner world of Estella Havisham. The lonely, selfish and hatred in Estella Havisham were ignored by Pirrip. There are a lot of changes have been taken place in her, the fulfillments on her physical world can not guarantee the coming back of Estella Havisham. As a consequence, Estella Havisham was tied with money and cosy life, but her feelings were never be paid great attention. The happy memories from Pirrip deepenher resentment attitude to Compeyson and his lover. She took a full advantage of Pirrip to take a revenge on Compeyson and his lover. Because of the death of Pirrip, Compeyson and his lover, the materialization concept has driven Estella Havisham to a isolation position.3.2.2 Compeyson’s Imprisonment of Estella HavishamThe fact is that Estella Havisham and Compeyson are couple, they should be responsible for each other. As Estella Havisham‟s husband, it is Compeyson‟s duty to give a happiness and comfortable life for Estella Havisham. But he did not make it, he still lived in his own life style. What‟s worse, he had Sharp as his lover. In a family, Estella Havisham can not get love and protection. In the patriarchal society, male is the dominator in family, they had rights to do what they like and their wives had no right to involve in it. The imprisonment of Estella Havisham became the limitation for her later life. Because of the relationship with Compeyson, it is unacceptable for her to build another relationship with a female. What‟s more, Estella Havisham could not divorce with Compeyson. It is the betraying to their husband in patriarchal society. As a consequence, even Estella Havisham as very lonely, she had no choice but to bear it. There was no more happiness family life for her, let alone the equality position with the male. The accumulation of negative feelings in Estella Havisham laid a foundation for the death of Compeyson and the tragic life of herself.3.2.3 Osborne’s Toying with SharpOsborne did not show too much attention to her wife, let alone his lover. In the patriarchal society, female is the subordination of male. From the first beginning, Osborne knew clearly about the primary purpose of Sharp. He knew Sharp wanted to get something from her, but he did not care about it. Sharp was considered as an excellent subject to meet his special needs. Osborne‟s philander with Sharp hinted that she would lose everything in the end. Because of being the lover of Osborne, her family was disappeared, so did the love of his husband. At one time, she might get something in the upper ten, but they are not eternal. This is just the fulfillment of her unreal dream. There is nothing left when Osborne died, because Osborne was the only man she could “rely on” in upper ten. What‟s worse, there was nopossibilities for Sharp to come back. “She was abandoned by the whole society, there was no place for her to survive”.3.2.4 Crawley’s Indifference to SharpAt the first beginning, Crawley was very fond of Sharp and was falling in love with her. Even there are some defects in Sharp‟s personality, but she was still the member of the upper ten. But there was a big difference when Crawley found the essence of Sharp, he left away immediately. Crawley‟s indifference to Sharp directly resulted the tragic life of Sharp. In the patriarchal society, it was not necessary for a male to stay with the only male. There were a lot of choices they can make. It would make their life much harder than ever before. It was impossible for them to win attention from others and get the respective attitude from the public. Compeyson and Pirrip always in the dominating position in the relationship with Estella Havisham and Sharp. Estella Havisham and Sharp were not truly accepted by society.4. ConclusionGreat Expectations and Vanity Fair are the highlight in the literature history. It is no doubt that there are a large scale of similarities and difficulties between the two works. It is very necessary to have a comprehensive understanding about the figures. After a thorough analysis about it, we can easily know that the famale figures in the two novels have a tragic life. Their trafic fate come from the internal and external causes. They are not only the victim of patriarchal society, but also the victims of their own weaknesses in personality. The clear understanding about the figure can lay a solid foundation to know better about Great Expectations and Vanity Fair, and Western culture.。
